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Birch or rotable plastic? Air New Zealand tests “eco-serviceware”
September 24th 2021
The push to phase out environmentally unfriendly single-use plastics has raised a question Air New Zealand is keen to answer: which replacement is best? Read More » The Auckland-based carrier is looking at replacing 28 million single-use plastic dishes, knives, forks and spoons used each year in its inflight services. It also recently tested casserole dishes made of bagasse, an agricultural by-product, and lightweight “rotable” plastics that can be sterilised and reused. The company is comparing cutlery made from renewable birchwood that has a low carbon footprint against its bamboo equivalents. The airline is assessing factors ranging from carbon emissions to the raw materials used to produce its serviceware. "We’re on a journey to reduce the impact of our serviceware on the environment by moving away from single-use plastics and trialling more sustainable serviceware across some of our international flights,” Air New Zealand chief customer officer, Leanne Geraghty, said. “Our Future Aircraft Cabin Experience (FACE) programme has been in motion for a number of years, working on the future experience for our customers. COVID-19 has given us a chance to accelerate some of that work. We want to build back better than before and moving towards more sustainable alternatives inflight is a key focus area of our strategy.” Since 2018, the airline has transitioned 55 million single-use plastic items to lower-impact alternatives or removed them entirely from its operations.
